Category Archives: Social Media

Jabari Parker is the best high school basketball player in the country. He also is an A student, attends bible study every morning before class, and spends quality time with his family. Not bad for a kid who scouts predict will be one of the top 5 players in the NBA. Learn more about how this 17 year old achieves balance by watching this video on Time.com.

Afterschool.me Description:Afterschool.me is revolutionizing how children participate in sports, arts and technology. When the school day ends, we want every family to use Afterschool.me so a kid’s dream can become reality. Currently, there are more than 60 million k-12 students in the USA but only 8.5 million participate in afterschool activities. Participation in extracurricular programs increases a student’s likelihood for success in the classroom, staying healthy, increased confidence and avoiding drugs, alcohol and teen pregnancy. If you want to be part of the Afterschool.me revolution to help inspire more kids to participate in afterschool activities and reduce the barriers to participation, keep reading…

Brand Ambassador (Strategic Marketing Internship):Afterschool.me is searching for passionate, energetic and committed ambassadors. We are currently located in Los Angeles and will be expanding to cities across the country. We will select the most promising candidates at respective universities.

Ambassadors Responsibilities:
1) Crafting social media messaging for your area.
2) Market research on afterschool programs and free activities.
3) Speaking on behalf of Afterschool.me to the best afterschool programs in your community.
4) Creating and implementing a grassroots marketing strategy.
5) Have fun with our team during breaks as we play kickball, attend improv and other random goodness that relate to sports, arts and tech!

Commitment:
15-40 hours per week depending on availability, and the dates are flexible (ideally June – September).

Location:

Los Angeles Headquarters or Remotely (but only if you have the internet, which was invented by Al Gore).

Visit Us/Application Process:Applicants can apply by submitting a resume and one paragraph cover letter to teammates@afterschool.me. The cover letter should briefly explain your interest in afterschool activities and why it is important every kid has an opportunity to participate in sports, arts and technology.

Like this:

K12 Inc., America’s largest provider of online education for primary school students, gave a shout-out to Afterschool.me‘s blog. We are honored to be considered in the same “class” as the writers from the New York Times. Read the post here!

Apple’s most popular application for the iPhone has saturated the blogosphere, coffee breaks and skits on late-night television. For parents, Siri is a dream come true – a personal concierge at the tip of your fingers. But, what about children? What effect will Siri have on the next generation? Below is a snapshot of what children may be losing from a personal assistant on their cell phone.

1) The Ability To Make Decisions

Siri makes decisions for you. When you ask Siri for the best pizza shop, the application streamlines the decision making process by providing a suggestion. This recommendation is not the byproduct of an independent search, but filtered from a list of Apple affiliates. It is one thing to type a question into Google or Bing and you decide which result is more reliable, and it is another for an application to reach that conclusion for you.

2) The Ability To Ask Questions

Siri eases anxieties of asking classmates, colleagues and neighbors questions. You ask a question, and it can provide you the answer or research responses on the web at your request. You never have to worry about sounding unintelligent because Siri is so polite. But, learning how to ask “dumb” questions at a young age is integral to personal and professional development. What are the consequences if the next generation evades asking their peers questions? Maybe we should ask Siri.

3) The Ability to Interact With Others

Siri is funny. We know this. For the existential questions about life and current events, Siri has a response and even better, Siri is witty. Yet, if we are looking for humor or engagement, do we want to be reliant upon technology? Communicating through social media is a major innovation in sharing ideas and cultivating communities. Communication with Siri may be a tremendous diversion from that path because instead of communicating with each other, we are communicating with a machine.

While we cannot deny the potential of Siri, we do need to be cognizant of its implications. Siri certainly will reduce the time handling administrative tasks, and as a result, ideally will create more opportunities for us to do what we enjoy. However, as we teach the next generation to think for themselves, ask questions and develop friendships afterschool, let’s encourage them to look around and not down.